1909 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
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The 1909 major league baseball season began on April 12, 1909. The regular season ended on October 7, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers as regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the sixth modern World Series on October 8 and ended with Game 7 on October 16. The Pirates defeated the Tigers, four games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Chicago Cubs from the 1908 season.
National League (NL)
- April 12 â October 3, 1909 (AL)
- April 12 â October 7, 1909 (NL)
- October 8â16, 1909
| 1909 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Pennant winners | |
| NL champions | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| NL runners-up | Chicago Cubs |
| AL champions | Detroit Tigers |
| AL runners-up | Philadelphia Athletics |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Runners-up | Detroit Tigers |
In the National League, the Chicago Cubs had a record of 104â49 but finished 6+1â2 games behind the Pirates, setting a record for the most wins in an MLB regular season without reaching the postseason, which has only been equaled once, by the 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers, who had a record of 104â50.[1]
Schedule
The 1909 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place for the 1904 season. This format would last until 1919.
Opening Day took place on April 14 with all but the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals playing. The American League would see its final day of the regular season on October 3, while the National League would see its final day of the regular season was on October 7. The World Series took place between October 8 and October 16.
Rule changes
The 1909 season saw the following rule changes:
- A pitcher must face a minimum of one batter, due to a time-wasting trick to enable a team's intended pitcher to warmup for longer. This had previously occurred when one pitcher initially threw warmup pitches on the mound, before being taken out of the game (before facing a batter) to make way for a relief pitcher who now had extra warmup time.[2]
- The American League implemented the following rules:
- 40 minutes before each game for practice was allotted, with the first 30 minutes dedicated to the visiting team, while the last 10 minutes were for the home team.[3]
- Base runners were no longer allowed to advance more than two bases when a ball was thrown into the stands. Previously, there was no limit to how far a runner could go.[3]
- No passes to games were to be issued to members of the visiting team.[3]
- All teams must now maintain a large bulletin board giving the batting order accurately and indicating all changes as they are made.[3]
Teams
An asterisk (*) denotes the departure from a ballpark mid-season.
Standings
American League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 98 | 54 | .645 | â | 57âââ19 | 41âââ35 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 95 | 58 | .621 | 3½ | 49âââ27 | 46âââ31 |
| Boston Red Sox | 88 | 63 | .583 | 9½ | 47âââ28 | 41âââ35 |
| Chicago White Sox | 78 | 74 | .513 | 20 | 42âââ34 | 36âââ40 |
| New York Highlanders | 74 | 77 | .490 | 23½ | 41âââ35 | 33âââ42 |
| Cleveland Naps | 71 | 82 | .464 | 27½ | 39âââ37 | 32âââ45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 61 | 89 | .407 | 36 | 40âââ37 | 21âââ52 |
| Washington Senators | 42 | 110 | .276 | 56 | 27âââ48 | 15âââ62 |
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 110 | 42 | .724 | â | 56âââ21 | 54âââ21 |
| Chicago Cubs | 104 | 49 | .680 | 6½ | 47âââ29 | 57âââ20 |
| New York Giants | 92 | 61 | .601 | 18½ | 44âââ33 | 48âââ28 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 77 | 76 | .503 | 33½ | 39âââ38 | 38âââ38 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 74 | 79 | .484 | 36½ | 40âââ37 | 34âââ42 |
| Brooklyn Superbas | 55 | 98 | .359 | 55½ | 34âââ45 | 21âââ53 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 54 | 98 | .355 | 56 | 26âââ48 | 28âââ50 |
| Boston Doves | 45 | 108 | .294 | 65½ | 27âââ47 | 18âââ61 |
Tie games
23 tie games (13 in AL, 10 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.
American League
- Boston Red Sox, 1
- Chicago White Sox, 7
- Cleveland Naps, 2
- Detroit Tigers, 6
- New York Highlanders, 2
- St. Louis Browns, 4
- Washington Senators, 4
National League
- Boston Doves, 2
- Brooklyn Superbas, 2
- Chicago Cubs, 2
- Cincinnati Reds, 4
- New York Giants, 5
- Philadelphia Phillies, 1
- Pittsburgh Pirates, 2
- St. Louis Cardinals, 2
Postseason
The postseason began on October 8 and ended on October 16 with the Pittsburgh Pirates defeating the Detroit Tigers in the 1909 World Series in seven games.
Bracket
| World Series | ||||
| AL | Detroit Tigers | 3 | ||
| NL | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4 | ||
Managerial changes
Off-season
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Doves | Harry Smith | Frank Bowerman |
| Cleveland Naps | Nap Lajoie | Deacon McGuire |
League leaders
American League
1 American League Triple Crown batting winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | George Mullin (DET) | 29 |
| L | Bob Groom (WSH) | 26 |
| ERA | Harry Krause (PHA) | 1.39 |
| K | Frank Smith (CWS) | 177 |
| IP | Frank Smith (CWS) | 365.0 |
| SV | Frank Arellanes (BOS) | 6 |
| WHIP | Ed Walsh (CWS) | 0.938 |
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Honus Wagner (PIT) | .339 |
| OPS | Honus Wagner (PIT) | .909 |
| HR | Red Murray (NYG) | 7 |
| RBI | Honus Wagner (PIT) | 100 |
| R | Tommy Leach (PIT) | 126 |
| H | Larry Doyle (NYG) | 172 |
| SB | Bob Bescher (CIN) | 54 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Mordecai Brown (CHC) | 27 |
| L | Cecil Ferguson (BSN) | 23 |
| ERA | Christy Mathewson (NYG) | 1.14 |
| K | Orval Overall (CHC) | 205 |
| IP | Mordecai Brown (CHC) | 342.2 |
| SV | Mordecai Brown (CHC) | 7 |
| WHIP | Christy Mathewson (NYG) | 0.828 |
Milestones
Miscellaneous
- Boston Doves:
- Set the modern National League record for most losses in a season on October 6 with 108.
- Set the modern National League record for worst winning percentage with .294.
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants[9] | 92 | -6.1% | 783,700 | -13.9% | 10,178 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[10] | 95 | 39.7% | 674,915 | 48.3% | 8,880 |
| Boston Red Sox[11] | 88 | 17.3% | 668,965 | 41.4% | 8,920 |
| Chicago Cubs[12] | 104 | 5.1% | 633,480 | -4.8% | 8,227 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[13] | 110 | 12.2% | 534,950 | 39.9% | 6,772 |
| New York Highlanders[14] | 74 | 45.1% | 501,000 | 64.0% | 6,506 |
| Detroit Tigers[15] | 98 | 8.9% | 490,490 | 12.4% | 6,288 |
| Chicago White Sox[16] | 78 | -11.4% | 478,400 | -24.8% | 5,906 |
| Cincinnati Reds[17] | 77 | 5.5% | 424,643 | 6.4% | 5,308 |
| St. Louis Browns[18] | 61 | -26.5% | 366,274 | -40.8% | 4,636 |
| Cleveland Naps[19] | 71 | -21.1% | 354,627 | -16.0% | 4,606 |
| Brooklyn Superbas[20] | 55 | 3.8% | 321,300 | 16.6% | 4,067 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[21] | 74 | -10.8% | 303,177 | -27.9% | 3,937 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[22] | 54 | 10.2% | 299,982 | 46.2% | 3,947 |
| Washington Senators[23] | 42 | -37.3% | 205,199 | -22.3% | 2,665 |
| Boston Doves[24] | 45 | -28.6% | 195,188 | -23.1% | 2,568 |
Venues
The 1909 season saw two teams move to three new venues.
- The Philadelphia Athletics leave Columbia Park (where they played eight seasons), and opened Shibe Park, where they would go on to play for 46 seasons through 1954 before relocating to Kansas City, Kansas as the Kansas City Athletics.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates would play their last game at the Exposition Park site on June 29, having played 21 seasons there going back to 1882 (with a gap between 1884 and 1890), and opened Forbes Field on June 30, where they would go on to play for 62 seasons through the middle of 1970.